Erik's Afterlife
by Sailor Phantom of Middle Earth
Summary: Erik dies. Nice beginning huh? Afterwards he wakes up in 2007 with a phan girl. So you can imagine insanity will ensue. This is about how these two get along and finding out why Erik is with her in the first place... and Erik's attempts to get rid of her.
1. Prolouge or Chapter 1

**A/N: Once again I start yet another phic. Overactive imagination can be a pain. Thankfully, this is should be very good and lots of fun. So, read, enjoy, and PLEASE comment. Even stuff like; "Erik wouldn't do that." But please don't tell me how horrible this is. HELPFUL critisism is weclomed. ****Oh, one more thing, I don't-**

**Dhaos: "She's an obsessed phan who whishes she owns The Phantom of the Opera but doesn't so she writes fan fiction instead."**

**...Thanks. **

**Dhaos: "No problem."**

All my life I believed that God hated me, laughed at me. Even now I am sure he is still laughing. Even now, as I lay here dying.

I had hoped that once I died it would give me peace. Maybe not peace, but at least I would be away from this world that hates and fears me. Oh to rest for all eternity. To go to heaven... No. I am not fit for heaven. No doubt that once I reach it's gates the gate keeper will turn me away. It does not matter. For even hell must be better than this wretched place.

"Oh Christine. What I would give to hear your voice one... last... time."

**Erik's "Afterlife"**

**by Sailor Phantom**

It seemed like only a moment had passed since I began my eternal sleep when I heard a voice call me. "_Erik."_ Of course! It must be Christine. Who else would journey to find me. She must be here to return the ring. She must of heard of my death. Oh how long has it been since I have heard her voice?

_"Erik."_ Oh what a joy it is to hear your voice. Oh what a greater joy it must be if I could see your face. To open my eyes and- What's this? I can feel? A feeling that I had already forgotten. My fingers, my hands, my arms. Oh my toes, my feet, my legs.

Everything is slowly coming back to me. Does God finally have some mercy for me? To let me see my dear Christine once more? I can feel, I can move but, I can not seem to _breathe_. Of course. This is only for a moment. I am dead. Truly _dead_. Only to wake from my sleep for this one moment to see my beloved Christine. Oh Christine.

_"Erik."_ Her voice. Her voice has changed. Oh how long it must have been. My dear, _dear _Christine. Shall I open my eyes now? Dare I? Only to see my lovely Christine's face once more? Yes. I shall. I dare. I wake for you, my sweet, innocent Christine.

Finally I open my eyes expecting to see my angel before me. Yet, not only is Christine gone, but my surroundings have changed. I am no longer in the Paris Opera house, but in a strange room with white walls and pictures of large cats and people in strange costumes. There is a bed with a light brown comforter and pillow with silhouettes of more large cats decorating it. In front of me is what I believe to be a closet filled with clothes I had never seen before. There is a large black box with glass covering the front and it sits on top of a white cabinet with an opening under the drawer and a small thin black box. On the other side of me is a white dresser with small animals and a vase of dried up roses and fake flowers. There is also a window with light brown curtains and black spots.

As I took in my surroundings I heard a voice behind me. The same voice that had woken me from my slumber. I turn around to see a young woman, a teenager, but she is dressed in pants and a shirt, a strange shirt. Her hair by far is the strangest, a light brown, almost dirty blonde, with blonde stripes, _stripes_, two in the front and two in the back. What woman in their right mind would find a way to have their hair like that?!

This girl was not my Christine. Yet some how she had woken me from my sleep. She stared at me in a way that I had never seen before and hope never to experience again. It was almost like she was... excited. Now I was certain I was indeed in hell.


	2. The Phan Speaks

**The Phan Speaks**

"You." Was all she managed to say over and over again. But it wasn't in French, it was English. It was getting very annoying to Erik. '_Wait. My mask! Had my mask come with me?_' He thought and quickly put his hand to his face to see if that was the reason why this girl couldn't speak. He was greatly relieved to find it was still there along with his wig. She could not see any part of his face but his eyes. Though the question still remained. Why was she acting so strange? Of course anyone would act strangly if a man appeared in a room wearing a mask, but she acted differently than most.

He noticed the desk she sat at had another box similar to the black one but it was white. It had a toy tiger wrapped around it and two small boxes on either side with two toys sitting on them. All these things were on the left side of the desk. On the other side was a small round mirror, two pictures of this girl with two other people fit in one light blue frame on top of a very colorful box covered with different kinds of cats. Next to this was a round mirror, different colored hair bands, a candle in the shape of a flower, a rock, and a black and silver thing with four numbers which seemed to glow green with another toy cat ontop of that. The last number changed from a 1 to a 2. He came to a conclusion that it is some kind of clock and according to this clock it was 11:12... am from the light coming from the window.

"You." She said once again bring Erik's attention back to her. This woman must know more than "you" since next to the window was a small shelf of books, along with more toys of cats, papers, cards, a jewelry box, a few pictures, a white trash can, some candles, and a few other strange things. There was a pillow in front of the bookcase, a white trashcan, and thin square boxes stacked on each other. Undre the winder were foldres, a few large books, papers, a large odd looking purse, a small gift bag, a chest with the the simalar design as the curtains with two bears wearing clothes, a box with various items, and the oddest chair he had ever seen next to the dresser. It looked like some sort of black rocking chair with no legs.

"Woman!" He exclaimed to get her attention and thankfully stopped her from saying "you" again. "Who are you?" He demanded, his eyes glowing as he spoke.

She looked at him blankly as if he spoke a forien langague to her though he had questioned her in English. '_Wonderful, I have an idiot._' He thought to himself and rolled his eyes. After staring at him with the same blank look for some time now, she shook her head and answered. "Regina. I can't believe it's you!" A smile grew on her face as she looked him over. She couldn't believe that the Phantom was here, in her room. Of course Erik didn't share her enthusiasm. He only wanted to know where he was and why.

"Where am I?"

"My room." She answered. He glared at her unsatisfed with her answer. "California. Oh this is so cool!" Her excitment grew so she jumped up from her seat and to Erik. He couldn't dogde her since she was much to close and there were too many things in the way. With her arms out, she came forward and fell through him and to the carpet floor. As entertaining as that was for him, he did not expect it and was more astonished than amused. Regina mumbled something quietly then turned around and to sit on the floor and look at him, or his back. She seemed unfazed by the fall and simply cocked her head with a small smile. "Well, that was interesting."

"I see. Now I am truly a phantom." He said ignoring her comment. "God is still laughing at me." He sighed and Regina looked at him curiously.

"Why would He laugh at you?" '_This woman really is an idiot!_' He thought. '_Wait, does she know me?_' From the moment that he came here all she said was "you". Almost like she knew who he was. Not only that, somehow she woken him from his sleep and brought him here, in her room.

"How did you bring me here?" Again she gave him a blank look. '_She must use it very often for she does it so well_.' He smiled to himself as he thought of people asking her simple questions and her using her expert blank look.

"Um. I have no idea." Her arms went up in the air to stretch when he saw the ring on her finger. It was _his_ ring.

He went to grab her wrist only to see his go through it -- like the substance was there had been replaced by air. Glaring at the clueless teenager before him, he pointed to the ring on her finger. "_Where did you get this_!" She blinked a few times before bringing her right hand down to look at the ring.

"A pawn shop outside of town. My friend said she found some pretty cool-" Once again he tried to grab her wrist so he could take the ring off her finger only to fail again. He glared at the ring on her finger as it "mocked" him by staying out of his reach. It was so close but he could never hold it in his hands again. "Uh, are you OK?"

"_No!_" He exclaimed and his anger grew. "First I am woken by a voice I believe to be Christine's only to find it is some wretched American and now I find _my _ring on _your_ finger!" The room seemed to shake as he spoke.

"I have your ring?" She asked as the idea of having the ring meant for Christine was now in her posesion. "I have the phantom of the opera's ring." Regina smiled at the ring, got up, and laughed excitedly. Erik's anger grew at her delight so he pulled out his punjab lasso from his coat and tossed it around her neck only to see it fall through her in the same way as his hands did. He couldn't even kill her. '_This really is hell._' He thought and his anger continued to grow. He was doomed to spend the rest of eternity with _her._ Seeing that there was nothing he could do, he sat down on the bed. '_At least I didn't pass through this. That's it!_' Since he couldn't use his hands or his lasso, maybe he could use something here and began looking around for some blunt object to hit her with. "I have Erik's ring!" He was just about to grab something in front of the bed when he heard his name. Never did he tell her his name, so how did she know?

"How do you know me?" He asked, his eyes narrowing on her as he forgot about what he had planned to do.

She stopped dancing at the question seeing that she had let his name slip. Regina took a moment to think of what to say but... How? How...? "How do you explain to a famous fictional dead person that your a famous fictional dead person known all over the world?"

"_What?!_" Erik exclaimed both furious and astonished.

Regina slowly turned to him with a small smile, feeling rather silly for speaking her mind without thinking again. "I guess that's how."


	3. Becoming a Phantom

**Becoming a Phantom**

Erik spent the next several minutes listening to her talk about a man named Gaston Leroux. He wrote many books but one of his most famous books was "The Phantom of the Opera". She decided to show him the book since she had it on her shelf. After a couple minutes of taking this in she told him that it became so popular that they turned it into a movie many times and a Broadway play. She then tried to explain what a movie and Broadway was. It was quite a bit to take in, even for one who is dead. To hear that he doesn't exist, that he's just some character from a book. Even with the mask, he was unable to hide his astonishment.

"But I read something saying that you really did exist and look, your here-" Erik turned to her with a cold look in his eyes which silenced her immediately.

"I must get back to Paris." It seemed like the logical thing to do since that is where he died and where his body should be. Maybe if he went back there, he could finally find peace and rid himself of this teenager or "phan". He got up from the chair ready to leave. Now so you know, Erik wasn't really sitting on the chair, he was hovering just above it making it seem like he was, but he wasn't aware of this and only wanted to sit down so he did, in a way.

"What? How?" Regina said stopping him from leaving. Not only did she not want him to leave, but she had a very good point. He did not know anything of this place. Not only was it a foreign land to him, but a foreign time as well. He had been dead for almost 200 years. '_Maybe this girl would come in handy after all._' He thought and turned to her to see what she had to say. "It's not like you can waltz right into the airport without a passport and onto the airplane that's going to-... Oh yeah, you can." She smiled and a giggle escaped her lips as she thought of Erik sitting in a vacant seat in a plane, first class. Erik thought of asking what an airport and airplane was but decided it didn't matter and he may find out later.

"Then it appears that I am stuck here. With _you_." He said the last word grimly but Regina ignored it and continued smiling.

"I got an idea!" She exclaimed and threw her hand in the air. Now, during normal circumstances, Erik would not pay attention, but this was anything but normal. He didn't even believe there were really ghosts when he was alive but here he was, in this girl's room, as the thing he pretended to be in the opera house. He watched her silently with her hand in the air looking at the ring on her finger like she was waiting for something to happen. "Christine, Christine, Christine!" She called loudly to the ceiling or the ring. The more she spoke, the more he was convinced that she was insane. Still, he was curious what she was doing so he asked her. Regina's smile never faded from her face. "I'm trying to bring Christine Daaé's ghost here."

"Why?" He asked, well, more of demanded. '_This girl is trying to make me suffer more!_' Though he loves Christine with every fiber of his being, how could he have her here? She left him for Raoul. There was no way he could face her again. Then why did he also hope that she would succeed. So that he may see her once more and he still had that little bit of hope - that she may love him. Hope that he wished he could extinguish so it wouldn't torment him. '_Maybe if she could bring her here, then maybe this isn't hell._' He thought. '_Maybe I could handle this with her here._'

A minute had passed and nothing happened. Erik wasn't sure how long it took him to arrive here, so it may still work. Regina brought down her hand to look at the ring before throwing it back in the air. "Christine Daaé I summon you!" Erik groaned at her second attempt guessing that it wasn't going to work. In a way he was thankful. Who knows what this person would do if his angel was here as well. He quickly pushed the thought from his mind and tried to ignore her many attempts to bring his love. She continued calling for the next few minutes before giving up and trying another name. Someone called Frodo Baggins. He guessed this person was also a character from a book since at one point she said, "Frodo Baggins of the world Middle Earth-." It was getting very annoying and he almost started to miss Daroga and Raoul. _Almost_.

About 15 minutes had passed before she finally gave up and turned to Erik who was examining the room a little more closely. More specifically the black box. "It's a TV." She answered the question that was running through his mind. He turned to her waiting for some explanation of what a TV was and saw her pick up a small black rectangular object. "This is the remote for the TV, here." She was halfway threw tossing the remote to Erik before rmembering that he wouldn't be able to catch it, but it left her hand before she could stop herself. Erik was getting very irritated and it did not help that she threw the remote to him. '_It'd be nice if this thing would hit her._' He thought glaring at remote coming- It stopped, though only for a moment, then went back at Regina hitting her head point blank.

Regina stumbled backwards after it hit her and rubbed her head confused and amazed. Erik gazed at the device that hit her, now at her feet. "Throw it at me." He said.

The teenager looked at him confused. "Why? So you can hit me again?"

"Exactly." She looked at him surprised. Not because of his response, it made perfect sense for him to want to hit her again after his attempts to kill her failed, but because he was able to throw it at her in the first place. She picked up the remote and set it on the desk, to Erik's disappointment, but got one of the small soft toy animals off her desk and threw that instead. Erik smiled behind the mask and thought of the same thing he did last time. The toy animal fell threw him, hit the TV, then the floor. The two looked at the toy confused, Regina blinking a few times at the toy. "Why didn't it work?!" He exclaimed. Regina smiled and sat at the desk in front of the white box. "What are you doing?'

"First, this is a computer." She said, moving a small device making the screen light up with a picture. "Well, actually this is the monitor. The computer is that." She pointed to the rectangular object under the desk with a pillow case on top. He frowned at her for not answering his question. "I'm going on the internet to look up ghosts." Regina answered with a smile. Her smile never seemed to leave her face. Erik had never seen a person so happy before. Not only that, but with each answer she gave, it only created more questions for him to ask like what is the "internet"?

The screen changed to white then the words Google appeared, along with the words Web, Images, Video, News, more and a long box below it. In the box she put the words "types of ghosts". Once again the screen changed and more words came up, and the screen changed again. The words "Types of Ghosts" was at the top of the screen and below that was information of the different types of ghosts. "Apparition... You might be that." She said after reading the first few sentences.

Erik glared at the screen. "I don't smell." Regina laughed with a nod then continued reading. He started to believe that he might be an entity after reading, "...extremely violent individuals, murderers, psychotics, and just plain evil people." He read out loud. Regina turned to him and saw the sadness in his eyes. "...something that was never human to begin with."

"You're human, deal with it." She said turning back to the screen. Erik looked at her surprised at her reaction. Never had anyone told him that he was human. "So you can't be that." She turned back to him with a smile. It was then he remembered the book. This girl along with so many other people knew how he looked and what he did. So why would she treat him so kindly? He pushed the thought from his mind and looked back at the screen. One that caught his attention was the Haunted Objects. It didn't give very much information so he moved on. "Intelligent Ghost?" Regina asked.

"Do I look like I _want_ _your_ attention?" He asked sarcastically after reading what it said. The girl shrugged with a smile.

'_That would be kinda cool._' She thought. "Poltergeist." She laughed. "You weren't exactly the happiest man alive or _ghost_ and it explains how you were able to move the remote."

Of course Erik took it as an insult. He knew what she said was true, he was angry, but that was because he was with _her_. "Again, I do not smell."

"Well, that seems to be it then. Unless you think you're a Black Dog." She teased. One had to be an animal to be a Black Dog so Erik was far from amused. Regina saw this but couldn't help smiling. The screen moved up and she looked over the different ghosts for anything she might have missed. She stopped at the Haunted Objects. After reading the two sentences the screen changed back to the picture. "It's the ring. It's gotta be!" She exclaimed looking at the ring.

"Even if that is the case, why didn't I wake up earlier?" He asked.

Regina got up with a big grin. "Man are you lucky." Obviously he didn't feel lucky and did not want to ask why she said he was. That is until she left the room in a hurry. What was this girl up to? At that moment he heard a quick scream. His curiosity got the best of him and he left the room to see what happened.


	4. The Ring

**A/N: PLEASE leave a commet. It's nice to know what people think and that you're reading. Helpful critisizm is good too!**

**The Ring**

After Erik left the room it didn't take long to find Regina in the hallway on the floor with a large black and brown dog. "Saddie, I almost tripped on you." She laughed and roll over to look at the large dog. Saddie's ears perked up and started licking the teenager's face. This didn't surprise Erik, she seemed like one who would fall all the time. Regina pushed the large dog away from her and glanced up at Erik feeling silly for having been startled by Saddie, running into the wall, and fall to the floor. Usually she would be able to get out of the away but was too distracted by what she was planning on doing. "Wow, I never thought you'd come see if I was alright."

"It doesn't matter to me what happens to you." He scoffed. Regina got up and put a hand on the dog. "What were you doing running out of your room?"

"I was going to write a note." She answered and continued down the short hallway with the dog following close behind.

Erik took this moment to look around. Behind him to his left was the door to Regina's room. It had pictures of animals and her name repeated a few times. Next to it was another door with the name Dawn repeated so many times that it almost covered the door. Across from Regina's room was a bathroom. The next door was open and inside was another bedroom with a tall queen size bed. On the bed was a orange striped cat with curious eyes looking at the spot where Erik stood. On the other end of the hallway was one more door, this one didn't have a doorknob. The hallway was decorated with puzzles, two of dragons, one of town by the ocean with hidden faces, another of carmel apples, one with 4 faces carved into the side of a large rock. There was also long rainbow belts crossed like an X with pins of many shapes and sizes.

He left the hallway and to his left was the entrance of the house. On the wall were two large frames with many pictures. The first had a couple getting married, her parents most likely, the next had many different people, old and young. In front of him he could see into two open rooms, the living room on the right with a large couch against the wall, a large chair, another TV but this one was larger inside a cabinet with porcelain dolls, dragons, and thin rectangular boxes, a table with five chairs stood behind the large chair, a stand with a strange lamp with little houses, and the fireplace with pictures, and candles.

In the left room was another large chair next to a small table with a lamp and books, a desk with books and papers, a glass cage with pieces of wood, a wide bowl with water, and a log, and no animal could be seen inside, a large bookcase with many books. The carpet ended and that's the kitchen began. There was a door and next to that was another desk with another computer and lots of papers. The kitchen was long with counters on both sides, a cabinet, and a refrigerator across from that, and led to the living room.

Regina was at the counter writing on a piece of paper. Erik decided not to bother asking what she was writing to look at the books. He had barely finished the first row when Regina called him. "OK, let's go Erik." She headed to the door by the computer.

"Go?"

"Yeah, go." She answered as she opened the door to a large room and an odd automobile. The automobile was very different from the ones he had seen in his time. It was smooth, silver, and though he'd hate to admit it, much more appealing. He glared at her not wanting to ask her again. "To the pawnshop where I got the ring." She responded like it was obvious and headed to the vehicle. Erik stepped out of the kitchen and into the large messy room. Hanging from the ceiling was a kite shaped like a dragon. All around the room were boxes of all sizes and shelves of bottles and different things. Two large white boxes sat in the upper right corner of the room with clothes in baskets on the right wall. Regina got inside the automobile and opened the door on the other side for Erik to get in.

"I know I shall regret asking this but, why am I lucky?" He hesitantly got into the car half expecting to fall through the seat. His eyes wondered round gazing at the different buttons and controls inside.

"'Cause I finally have the car today." Her hand reached above Erik's head to a small black device with three circular buttons. She pressed one and the wall behind them lifted.

Erik was startled - to say the least - and turned to watched the wall, or door, rise till it reached the top of the ceiling so the car could leave the room. Needless to say Erik was fascinated by the door and the car that was puling out of the room so he could get a good look at the house. Though it looked different than any of the houses or mansions he had ever seen the oddest thing must have been it's color - yellow. The roof was a bluish grey with white windows but the rest of the house was a light yellow. Not only was this girl strange but so was the house she lived in. The other houses on the large street were similar but they at least had a better colors in his opinion.

"Whoo!" Regina laughed. Erik looked at the overly excited girl suspiciously with his hands in his lap, trying to look un affected by his surroundings or by the speed of the car. "This is your first car ride huh?" She glanced at him making the phantom nervous about her driving skills but quickly remembered it really didn't matter whether or not they crashed. In fact, he would be most pleased to be a witness to her death.

The car ride took a little over 15 minutes. During that time Regina explained to Erik what the different things he saw were. She didn't mind at first but to Erik she either said too much, too little, or he really didn't care. After a while she started to feel like a tour guide and Erik was the tourist that wanted to go out on his own. He was feeling the same way except that she was the "useless" tour guide.

The two were more than happy to arrive at the pawnshop, each for their own reasons. Erik disliked riding in the car and left it before Regina could open the door so he would have to walk through it. Regina hurried inside and started ringing the silver bell on the counter repeatedly. A man was near the entrance looking perplexed at the overly excited customer. Erik came in gazing at the different items decorating the run down shop.

"Ello there miss, may I help yah?" The man asked.

Regina looked over her shoulder to the middle aged man. "You're accent changed." She commented with curious eyes. The man was taken back to see that it was the same person who came only a few hours before. "Before you had a French accent."

The man laughed uneasily before hurrying behind the counter. "Ah yes. I remember you." He said this time in a French accent. Erik rolled his eyes. "That is the worst fake accent I have ever heard." Erik sneered.

Regina cocked her head to one side, examining the man. She shrugged and put her hand with the ring out to him. "Where did you get this?"

"Is something wrong with it?" He inquired, recognizing the golden band immediately.

"Of course something is wrong with it!" Erik exclaimed, coming beside Regina. "It brought me to _her!_" Regina frowned, glancing at Erik. The man gazed at her puzzled.

"Miss?" Her frown faded seeing that the man could not see or hear Erik. She simply nodded and put a smile back on her face. "It originally belonged to a friend of mine. Man was he happy to be rid of it." He laughed. Regina didn't seem too surprised by his comment since Erik was not what you'd call a people person. The man continued saying that his friend believed it was cursed. Someone in his family, a great uncle, had found the ring in Paris and brought it back home. Ever since then it seemed to cause him trouble and locked it away in the attic. It was found sometime after he died and was used as an engagement ring. Erik frowned at the thought but Regina could help being amused seeing that was it's origonal purpose. Once again the ring brought trouble and ended up giving it away to their cousin who then gave it to the man here. "Then you came and bought it."

"What sort of trouble?" She asked, curious to hear what type of mischief Erik caused.

"Little things, stuff that'd scare most superstitious people; getting hit for no reason, falling into anything that'd make a big mess, little stuff. 'Course I didn't believe it but since you took it away business has been a lot better." Regina and Erik glanced around the shop. Most of the objects were covered with dust and it didn't look like anything had been moved recently. "OK! It crept me out. I don't know why but it did." The girl shrugged and started to walk off. "Hey, aren't you gonna do somethin' for me now?"

"I can't believe this." Erik groaned, now by the door. Regina ignored his comment and faced the man with a small smile. "Like what?"

The man smiled slyly and brought himself forward enough that he began leaning on the counter. "How 'bout dinner and a movie sweetie?"

Regina's smile turned into a frown and went through her purse pulling out a two green pieces of paper, setting it on the counter. "I'll give you 20 dollars for the information and to _never_ to say that again." Erik held back a chuckle at seeing a different side of the girl. The man, though disappointed, took the paper and smiled, holding the money up, as a sort of "thank you" or "your loss". What the man didn't know is that Regina had accidentally pulled out a 10 and a 1 underneath it. Normally she would have said something but Erik insisted that they leave.

"So you're previous owners were either men or you were locked up." She said once outside the shop. "I still think you could be a poltergeist." She teased.

Erik glared at the girl and with a burst of anger exclaimed. "I am _not_ a _poltergeist!_" At that very moment the trash inside the trash can that was only a few feet away burst into flames. The two gazed at awed at what happened. Regina smiled mischievously at Erik with a chuckle. "Yeah, right." If looks could kill, Regina would have been over killed.

Now, what the two did not know is that moments before they came out of the pawnshop, a reckless person tossed their cigarette into the trash can. Thus causing the trash to catch fire then burst into flames once it found a flammable liquid that covered most of the trash inside. It was about that time when the pawnshop owner realized that he only had 11 dollars instead of 20, the smoker ran as far away as possible, and a large crowd started to gather to gaze at the flaming trash can while maybe two people in the crowd decided to call a fire department. Erik looked back at the spectacle and had only one thought. '_Nothing had changed._'


	5. Decisions and Opinions

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait and short chapter. ; I've been having trouble with this one along with my other stories. One of which hasn't been updated in over 2 months. Good news is I've got a good idea where this is going and the other chapters shouldn't take as long to write... I hope. Also, I got a car and my birthday is in two days:D Useless info but I felt like saying it. ;P Now, Enjoy and please comment.**

**Decisions and Opinions**

Erik went through the door into the house more than happy to be out of the car. Regina held back a laugh when he hurried out of the car before it even stopped moving. She had taken the freeway back home. Neither of them talked on the way back, mostly since Erik disliked the speed at which they or the other cars were going, to say the least. Regina enjoyed it thoroughly and headed straight to the refrigerator while Erik gazed at the snake now out from it's hiding spot. "That's Sam." Erik turned around to see Regina holding a banana, _half_ of a banana. "Hey Pippin!" She said looking at a large black and white cat looking lazily at her on the light brown chair. The orange stripped cat came down the hall and onto the couch before jumping Pippin in a playful way. "The other one's Jaws. Don't ask." She quickly added.

"I wasn't planning to." He responded turning his attention to her. "But I would like to know why you didn't take off the ring." One of the cats meowed at the other when he finished, Regina was paying attention to the cats but heard his question.

"I don't know. I never-"

"Who are you talking to?" A female voice inquired. Erik turned around to see a teenager with short dirty blonde hair with thin blonde stripes to make it seem more blonde. Her hazel eyes gazed at Regina like she was insane, though that wasn't far from the truth in Erik's point of view. She raised an eyebrow waiting for an answer.

"Oh, hi Dawn." Regina smiled at her. '_So that is Dawn._' Erik thought. "Uh, no one." It would have been a more convincing answer if she hadn't been looking at Erik. "Just talking to myself."

"Well do it quietly." The girl was younger than Regina but acted like she was older. This made Erik wonder just how old Regina really was. "You sound stupid talking to yourself." Dawn sat in front of the computer in the kitchen paying no more attention to her sister. Regina sighed heavily, annoyed at her comment and made her way up the hall to her room. Seeing there was nothing more to do, and since Regina was the only one he could converse with, he followed her but not before looking back into the living room where he saw a tall boy with very short dirty blonde hair gawping at the TV like a mindless drone. A smile crossed his face as he thought of the people back in his time and how they had given him a similar look for a different reason.

Regina was frowning at various objects in her room quietly groaning when he arrived. "Would those two be your siblings?" He asked.

"Huh?" She turned to see Erik by the door. "Russ is here too? Uh yeah, Dawn and Russell. My little sister and little brother... who is now _taller_ than me." She said with a small frown. Ignoring her comment, he went back to the question he had asked before Dawn interrupted.

"Why have you not taken off _my_ ring?" He said, emphasizing "my", so she would not forget. She could tell that Erik wanted that ring off her finger, now. So she took it off... Well, she _tried_ to take it off. "Well?" He was getting impatient.

"Uhhhhh." She looked at the ring before slowing turning her gaze to Erik. "It won't come off."

The very moment she finished, Erik's temper reached it's limit and was let out all at once. "_What!?!_" He moved at an amazing speed to her and Regina, though a bit startled, started blushing from their proximity. Even Erik was a bright red, but for a different reason. He spun around and started speaking in French. Regina thought it was probably a good thing that she didn't learn a second language like French, though she was planning on learning Japanese, not that it would be of any help now. After some time of talking to himself, he spoke to her. "I doubt you are brave enough to cut off your finger."

Her eyes widened at the thought and she grasped her right hand, bringing it close to her chest. Erik scoffed at her reaction, not at all surprised. "I think my parents might get a little suspicious to see I have a _missing finger_." She explained. When she mentioned her parents, he remembered a question that had entered his mind before.

"Just how old are you?" He asked.

"19." She answered, now relaxing her hand. Erik looked her over once more. The girl did not look 19, more like 17 at least. The way she acted helped in her younger appearance, but also since she did not wear any makeup, that he could see. He was sure that women still wore makeup though this girl did not. "Anyway, my mom might have some ideas for taking it off so lets wait till she gets home."

"And when would that be?" He asked in a calm yet demanding tone.

The girl bit her lip and eyes turned toward the ceiling. "Five-ish." Once again the simple straight answer he wanted was twisted into a vague one. The "ish" could mean anywhere between 4:30 and 5:30 or possibly longer and he did not want to spend this time with her. "To the internet!" She exclaimed with a hand in the air. Erik's mask moved slightly with his brow as the girl jumped into her chair and gazed at the screen. The temptation to strangle her grew as she sat there and so did his frustration that he was no longer able to and stood beside her to watch what she was doing.

Regina had decided to show him the website so he could see how popular he was. His reaction was less than enthusiastic to say the least. Especially when he glanced over some of the phan phiction about "him" and the Mary sues. So far none were to his liking. Next was DeviantART to show what was uglier and scarier than him. The pictures and drawings were as follows; orc, the mummy, a clown, two orcs, the thing, the phantom of paradise's mask, a large group of orcs, the man woman Michael Jackson, It, a chibi that looks _way_ too cute that it was scary, a fat man in a bikini, something neither of them could even identify, and more orcs. This didn't change Erik's view of himself but it did make him question the man that changed into the hideous woman. Later she tried to make him laugh, which was an utter disaster. They ended up doing research about what had happened while he was dead.

About two hours had passed before the girl's mother came home and Regina was more than happy to quit the research to see her mother. Even if her purpose was to get the ring off. Erik slowly followed after her expecting to see a woman similar to the girl he was stuck with. In the family room was Regina, the large black and brown dog, and a woman in her early to mid 40's. Her appearance was quite different to that of her daughter; short blonde curled hair, blue eyes, round face, slightly larger than her daughter yet shorter by a few inches, and looked more down to earth and calm. This made him wonder if the girl was adopted.

The mother was examining the gold ring on the girl's finger when he arrived. "And I can't get it off." Regina quickly said.

Her mother looked at the girl shaking her head. "Alright, lets up it under some water." And so began the many attempts to release Regina's finger from the ring. After their third attempt with soap and water, her father had come home. Erik's thought of Regina's adoption vanished after looking at her father, she had gained some traits from him. He was taller than his daughter, his black hair graying with signs of balding as well, he looked to be in his late 40's, possibly 50. Seeing their predicament he threw around some ideas, along with cutting off her finger. To Erik's disappointment, he was only teasing the girl, though she did not see to get it at first. Soon after trying everything they could think of, the mother came up with one last idea. "Looks like we'll have to cut it."

"What?" Regina exclaimed, holding her hand tightly. Her mother laughed at her reaction and explained she meant the ring. This of course did not bode well with Erik and made his opinion known, if only to Regina. The girl put a hand to her ear which was ringing from Erik's yell.

It didn't take very long to get to the Jeweler's shop, Erik was sitting in the back of the van with Regina casting an angry glare saying, "If you do this, I will make your life miserable even _after_ you die". Of course this made her try to think of _any_ other ideas, though she would hate to lose Erik, death threats and all. The father told the jewelry of their predicament and asked Regina to show the man the ring. The jeweler's eyes widened with awe and surprise and took Regina's hand for a closer look. "Are you sure you want to cut _this_?" He asked. "It is the most beautiful ring I have ever seen. No doubt it is real gold and the cutting on this is exquisite! And it is an antique?" Regina nodded, her head now resting in her hand on the counter. The man grabbed a special eye glass to examine the ring even more. "So simple and such fine work. It is even better than my grandfather's. There is no doubt this was done by the _best_ jewelry of it's time!" The more the man talked, the more Erik's smile and ego grew. "Where did you get this?" He turned to Regina with the glass still in his eye.

"A pawn shop for 10 dollars." The eye glass fell to the counter and so did the jeweler's mouth. "So, can you get it off?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yes of course. I would like to buy this from you, five times as much." Erik scoffed at the idea and said something about it being better than the crown jewels. Regina closed her eyes so no one would notice them roll at Erik. "Think about it. Now, come with me." The jeweler lead her to a room in the back and a large machine. Her parents followed quickly after them and gazed about the room along with Erik, who immediately started commenting on almost everything. The jeweler gestured to a chair for her to sit in as well as on for her parents. Erik stood next to Regina keeping his eye on her, the ring, and the jeweler. "Lets get started then." The jeweler said while holding a large razor. Regina's eyes widened as she sunk into the chair, grasping the arm rest tightly.


	6. The Chapter with No Real Title

**Sorry for the long wait and the short chapter.**

**The Chapter with No Real Title**

"That was amusing." Erik commented as he entered Regina's room.

"No it wasn't." She was pouting with some annoyance at the jeweler she had seen that same evening. The man had taken out a razor and she had thought that was the tool he was going to use to cut off the ring. A silly idea of course but she was a silly and naïve girl. He had only moved it to another spot so he could use the ring saw. To everyone's surprise, the ring would not cut. There wasn't even a dent or any sign that it had been touched. This was a wonderful and horrifying thing for Erik, his ring was intact, but he was stuck with the girl. Of course the jeweler tired again and each time it did not work. The mother's only concern was if they were to still be charged for it. They came home soon after and the parents discussed the other option more seriously and go to the hospital. Regina was able to convince them otherwise, telling them she didn't mind, as long as her finger didn't turn purple. "I think I trust dentist more than Jewelry people now."

There was a knock at the door, though it was ajar, followed by a female voice calling Regina questioningly. Regina hurriedly opened the door with a nervous smile to see her mom looking a little unsure. "Were you talking to someone?" She asked as her eyes wandered around the room, looking for some sign of either a person or her daughter's cell phone nearby.

Many different excuses and ways to get out of the question ran through her mind. "Yes." She chose none of them. She wasn't one to lie to her mother and knew if she did it would only grow more complicated till she couldn't take it anymore and would finally admit that she had _the_ Opera Ghost in her room. That and she was horrible at lying. "You just can't see him." Regina looked around the room, trying very hard not to look where Erik was. Erik could not believe what she was doing. Was she actually going to tell her? To his surprise, she simply shook her head and left.

"Do you talk to invisible people often?" Erik inquired. Regina looked at him curiously, not understanding what he meant right away. "From the way your mother acted it seems that talking to yourself is quite common." A small mischievous grin grew behind his mask.

She frowned for moment. "Like _you_ never talked to yourself?" Erik's grin was quickly withdrawn.

By the time Regina finally got dinner, it was already an hour past 6, which was fairly normal for her since she would often spend hours on her computer, drawing, writing, or on the more recently acquired internet. Her family didn't get to have dinner together very often, so she would eat dinner in her room.

"Let's watch a movie." Regina suggested and set the plate of food at her desk. Before Erik had the chance to ask what a movie was, she started talking again. "The only problem is finding one you'd like. Disney is out of the question." A snicker escaped her lips.

"What exactly is a movie?" He asked a little annoyed.

"It's like an opera but with a lot less singing, musicals are an exception though." She started reviewing the movies she had in her closet and saying some of the titles aloud. "Hook, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Harry Potter, Ghost Rider, Pirates, Spiderman, X-men." She made sure to avoid Phantom of the Opera, quite sure that he would be pleased with the chose of certain actors. "Lord of the Rings are three seperate movies that are 3 hours long, plus they're the extened edition so that'd take all night. Chronicles of Narnia!" She grabbed the DVD and placed it into the Playstation2. "You should be able to understand this one. Though you might like- Erik?"

Erik had gotten tired of listening to her talk and went to explore the house a little more thoroughly. He tried to open the door to the sister's room, only to see his hand slip past the door knob each time he tried, which annoyed him greatly. Now he could have easily past through the door but he was still not used to his ghostly form, so he moved on.

The brother, Russell, still sat in the same chair with the same mindless look on his face. He started to become a little suspicious of the TV. What was on the TV confused and surprised him. A large whale was singing opera and 3 sailors sitting on a large man in a boat. Needless to say, he moved on very quickly.

In the kitchen was the mother and father talking. He found out after listening to them talk, that the father was a teacher and a very intelligent man in science, math, and astrology, while the wife worked in Real-estate. Also in the kitchen was the sister still at the computer gazing at it intently. He thought of looking at the books but decided against it since he could not even pick one up. For a moment, the thought of venturing outside came to mind but it was extremely doubtful that he would find any means of entertainment. With a long tired groan he back to Regina's room. Like it or not, she was his only means getting information of this time and keeping from getting bored.

He had expected to see her staring at the computer or TV like her siblings but found her sitting on the bed with paper and pencil. She had not noticed him come in and he used this to his advantage. In a few moments he was by her looking down on the paper to see a drawing of a man. His clothes were similar to Erik's, hair went past the shoulders in a low ponytail, and the right half of his face was covered by a mask. The drawing was fair, not a lot of detail in his features and clothes, a few mistakes with the head, arms, and legs. But Erik, of course he saw every little flaw in it's simple design.

"Eyes and ears are too high." He mentioned, startling the girl, making her eyes jump from the drawing to his face. "Chest is too round and arms too fat." She opened her mouth to speak but was only able to get "um" in. Erik continued stating the flaws in the drawing, but what he failed to mention was the passion he saw in it.

"Are just going to say what I did wrong or help make it right?" She quickly asked the first moment he paused. For a quick moment, he was no longer in this girl's room in 2007, but back at the Opera house with a young Christine Daaé in the middle of another singing lesson.

_"No, no. You're not pronouncing it right. Do it again." Erik said from his hiding place, throwing his voice so Christine would not be able to find him._

_"I'm sorry... Angel, would you please how me how?" She asked sweetly. Her voice made him melt. _

_He lowered his voice to sound gentler as he spoke. "Alright, like this."_

"No." He said once out of his quick memory. '_I will never take on another student, no matter what the task.'_ Regina didn't seem surprised by his answer, after all, he fell in love last time. He wanted to change the subject, so he wouldn't think of his angel anymore. "What is in your sister's room?" He was now annoyed that he had to ask help just to open a door.

"Why are you asking me? Can't you go in there?" She was wondering why he didn't simply go through the door. "It's better that you don't anyway. It's like a tornado hit it." It was an interesting visual for Erik since he was unsure of exactly what would be covering the room in such a manner. "The only thing you'd be interested in would be the electric piano, but you can't touch anything."

"Electric?" He inquired.

She paused biting her lip then sticking her tongue out and biting that, as she tried to think of how to explain electricity. "Lightning." Feeling satisfied with the answer she gave, she tucked her drawing in-between the folders and sketchbooks next to the bookshelf. Erik of course, was not. Regina immediately saw this when she turned to him. "It's what we use for power. It last as long as the power plant works. Which is a _very_ long time."

"Why do I even bother?" He rubbed his mask where his temples were.


	7. Possession

**A new chapter! WHOOO! Ok, this one isn't very long but it's more impotant than you'd think. Erik finally starts to learn a little more about his-**

**Erik: "Jailer."**

**That's one way to put it.**

**Erik: "You do know I shall come after you."**

**...-puts hand up at eye level- Enjoy the chapter! **

**Possession**

After Regina had finally gone to bed, Erik stood watching her intently, thinking of ways to torture her. It was then that he examined her long and slender neck. '_How beautiful it would look with my lasso._' He thought. '_Or my fingers wrapped around her flesh_.' His hands reached down unknowingly, ready to embrace her neck in a death grip. He had only realized this after he "touched" her neck, but this time was different. It felt like his hands were in water. Somehow he had become slightly more solid. Erik smiled behind his mask, a smile if seen, would have made any person nervous.

He had an idea.

For the rest of the night he began practicing, experimenting, trying to find a way to make himself more real to the living world. During one of his trials, trying to pick up a small stuffed toy, he remembered rumors from his time about a child being possessed by a demon. '_I am not too far from that._' He thought. "You're human, deal with it." The girl's words interrupted his thoughts. Glancing at the girl he wondered how that one sentence could have effected him so much, that it would come back at the mere thought of calling himself a demon. Quickly he waved the thought away and continued with his previous one. '_I may be able to posses her._'

Erik moved to the bedside where she slept peacefully and sneered. "How shall I do this?" He said quietly. A few ideas ran through his mind but the best one was the one he didn't care for. He carefully laid himself across the bed, into the same position that the girl was in, lowering his head slowly on top and then into the girl's, he felt a strange sensation overcome him; sleep.

The dream was the most random and odd thing he could ever imagine. It would change from one thing to another in moments and would involve the strangest of people and creatures and a dancing banana with a cane and top hat. To escape the insanity which this girl would call a dream, he opened his eyes and threw himself forward, hoping that doing so would also let him leave her body. Unfortunately, he was still inside her. His thoughts combined with her own reeled through his head, soon causing him to question what he was thinking and what Regina was. Closing his eyes tightly, he grasped the girl's head in an attempt to silence the storm ragging within, and as quickly as it came, it left. His mind was completely silent. '_Or is it hers?_' He wondered. The question made him cringe inwardly.

He slowly opened his eyes to gaze around the room. What he saw surprised him. He was still in Regina's bedroom sitting on the bed, but everything seemed different somehow. The way he viewed things, how he understood them. Soon he was able to recall what a computer was and how it worked. What an airplane is, the advancements made in the world, the celebrations, the tragedies, Harry Potter, the book about him and the different variations of it, everything the girl ever learned and knew he now also knew.

Including her past.

The many friends she had when a child, how they all left her without so much as a word, leaving her alone and an outcast in some ways, how she felt for most of her life; alone and invisible, yet keeping a warm and friendly smile on her face whenever possible. How many times she cried, fell, got back up, laughed, yelled, apologized, and dreamed. All of her thoughts were now apart of his. And it occurred to him, his thoughts, his ideas, _his_ _past_, they were now being shared with her.

Unsure of how to leave her, he did the only thing he could think of, wake her up. Almost immediately he was tossed out of her body and into his own ghostly form. Regina sat on the bed with a tired blank look in her eyes, gazing at the wall ahead of her. Erik quickly straightened up, making sure that he looked like nothing had happened. Regina blinked a few times before finally turning to Erik with an open mouth.

"G'night." Was the only thing that managed to come out before falling back onto her pillow with a soft and quiet thud.

Erik almost couldn't believe what had happened. Gaining the knowledge of not only this time but of her and of the people she knew, in only a few moments. He had seen into the mind of a young woman with the mind of a innocent naïve young girl. Her thoughts were random and confusing, making little sense to him even now, but it was unlike anything he had ever experienced before.

"Never." He promised himself. "Never will I do that again." What little sanity he had, was on a rollercoaster at a theme park, and it bothered him that he even knew what that meant.

The next morning, Regina woke up much earlier than she usually would on a nonworking day - 7:30 am - but was quite awake and feeling refreshed. "WOW! I had the oddest dream last night." She commented, forgetting for the moment that Erik was in the room.

"I can imagine." He responded, his back turned toward her as he remembered what he had seen in her mind.

"No, I mean usually weird dreams are normal for me." She explained. Erik's eye twitched slightly. "And it started out like that but, then it got really odd. I was in a jungle of some sort but it was metal or something." Erik turned his head now a little interested. "And there was a guy with noose around his neck, and I was laughing at him with some girl beside me." Her face changed like she had just eaten a sour grape. Erik held back a smile, remembering the day dream he would often have after Christine left him. Also he was glad to see that only that had escaped his mind and nothing of his past.

'_She knows enough about me already._' He thought to himself.


	8. Be Happy

**So Sorry for taking so long. I've been working on this and POTO in 30 seconds Flash animation. I almost forgot about this but Rigoletto reminded me. Thanks. Anywho, enjoy and please comment. 'Cause your comments show me that people are interested in reading this. So no comments, no chapter.**

**Be Happy**

"Come on Erik, I want to go eat." Regina said after opening the door once more only to have it close on her so she couldn't leave. She turned around, a frown decorating her face, to Erik who was smiling behind the mask and enjoying his new found ability.

Regina had opened the door for possibly the 10th time before sighing, seeing that she was only pleasing Erik and she was not going to be getting breakfast anytime soon. "So tell me, does it usually take you this long to solve a problem? Or is this just a good day for you?" Erik's smile widened making the mask move a little.

She frowned at him before resigning to her bed, not daring to answer his question, instead asking one of her own. "How'd you do that anyway?"

"I find that if I concentrate on a certain object, like the door, I can move it. It seems that I am only able to move lighter objects." Erik paused for a moment. He wasn't sure why he was telling her this. It wasn't like he valued her opinion. In fact, he doubted she'd have an intelligent thought for anything. Still, he continued. "Only, it is inconsistent. Like it is controlled by something more than mere thought."

"Maybe you need a happy thought!" Regina exclaimed with a bright smile.

"A what?" He asked, immediately regretting it.

"A happy thought, like Peter Pan." An image of a boy in green tights quickly flashed through Erik's mind. He had been getting quick images like this ever since last night. When he looked at the TV, images of people, animals, and talking animals appeared for a moment. He guessed this was because these were the things that Regina would think of and now some of her thoughts were in his mind. This would have driven him completely mad, if he wasn't already. "You see, he needs a happy thought so he can fly." Erik almost felt like laughing. What she said sounded ridiculous. "So, what's your happy thought?"

Almost immediately, a thought came to him. "To see you dying, a slow and painful death, in my torture chamber." Regina's smile faded. "That would make me _very_ happy."

The two were silent for a few moments. Regina got up, opened the door, and closed it without saying a word. What he had said had made her rethink how wonderful it was to have Erik here, that and the constant insults. Erik on the other hand was finally starting to enjoy himself.

After she had left, he gazed at the door, still smiling. Erik had left out one small detail that he felt wasn't very important. When he would become frustrated with the object he was attempting to move, it's movements would become erratic and harder to control. When he was calm, the objects movements would be slow. Thinking of what she had said, he thought of how he felt when he was closing the door. He was "happy" as she put it. Though he would never truly consider himself happy ever again. His control over the door was much better than before. He grimaced at the realization that she was right, but of course he would never tell her.

About 10 minutes later, Regina came back to her room finishing off a banana. When she opened the door, she expected it to close on her before she got in or Erik to make some comment about the banana in her mouth. What she hadn't expected was the room to be empty. She looked around the room and even at the ceiling for some sign of where Erik might be.

He was gone.

After she swallowed the banana she sighed. "This is bitter-sweet." She closed the door behind her glancing around the room. Her plans for the day involved Erik, though they weren't much of plans to begin with. Unsure of what to do now, she went to the computer and played some music.

During the time that Regina had left, Erik began wondering why _he_ had not left her. He had gotten as much information about this time as he felt he needed, so what was his point in staying? With this thought in mind, he left through the front door, literally since he was unable to open it.

It felt a little strange to be wandering about in daylight, but he reminded himself that no one could see him. Though there was few cats that became uneasy or would watch him closely when he was near. All of which he ignored. He followed what appeared to be the main street until he came across an even larger street with many cars zooming by. Images of different signs and cities entered his mind. He had found his way out.

Erik continued walking up the street until he found the off ramp for cars, which he followed. It didn't take very long for him to be at the edge of the city limits. Soon he came across a sign that welcomed people to the small town.

With a small nod he continued on. Or so he tried. As he took his next step, he felt something pull him back. There was nothing behind him so this made him frustrated. Again he took a step but the pull became even stronger. With all his strength he pushed forward but was unable to move an inch. "Either God is toying with me still or this _is_ Hell." He groaned quietly after he tried once more to move forward. Seeing that he was not getting out, he reluctantly walked back. While he walked, he questioned why he was going back and what this force was that was keeping him to the young woman. The answer became obvious almost immediately; the ring. It had to be holding to the living world, so he never passed on. And now it was in the possesion of this strange young woman.

When he arrived at Regina's home, he stood outside for a while glaring at the door. Though he could have easily walked through it, the feeling as he did so was too unnatural, so he spent his time trying to turn the doorknob. He hated the fact that he was unable to do such a simple task, but he was able to shake it enough to get the attention of Regina's youngest sibling and open the door. Erik walked inside leaving a very confused teenager looking outside for someone.

♪"_And in this labyrinth, where night is blind_."♫ As he neared Regina's room, he heard a female voice singing. Her voice was pleasant enough to listen to but that was it. She obviously never had any singing lessons. To Erik, she was in great need of them.

The door was ajar so Erik was able to open it, but he wished he hadn't when he looked inside. Regina danced around the room holding a hairbrush close to her mouth. She wore a white half mask covering the right side of her face, a short black wig with much of her hair sticking out, and a long black cape flowing behind her. ♪"_For now I find, the phaaa_-"♫ She stopped short when she turned around and saw Erik standing in the doorway.

"What, are you doing?" He asked incredulously.

Regina quickly took off the cape, mask, and wig aside along with the brush. "Just singing." She answered, smiling sheepishly with a pretty good idea of what Erik would say.

Erik shook his head and frowned inwardly. "_That_ was _not_ singing." She had hoped that he'd be a little nicer about it though. "That was almost as bad as Carlotta."

It was Regina's turn to frown, but only for a moment. "Is that a complement or an insult? 'Cause with how you said it, I'm _better _than Carlotta." She smiled to herself. Erik could not believe what he was seeing. So he quickly decided to change the subject.

"What was that you were... singing."

"It's your theme song." After answering she pursed her lips outwards in a thoughtful look. "No matter how I say it, it sounds like you have your own super hero TV series." The thoughtful look changed to a large grin and suppressed giggles as she thought of a cartoon Erik in a costume with tights making him look heroic. Erik was not as amused. Images of men in colorful costumes and tights, flying high above the ground passed through his mind. That being one of the more uncomfortable images he had seen, he quickly pushed it aside, never to think of it again. Forgetting Erik and what he had said, Regina had started singing quietly to herself.

"Enough." Regina's eyes widened momentarily. Erik argued with himself inwardly about what he was thinking of doing. "If I am to listen to you sing while I am here, I should at least hear you sing properly." Regina could not believe what she was hearing and smiled widely.

"Soooo, does this mean, you're going to teach me?" She asked.

"So I don't have to listen to that horrid noise coming out of your mouth, even as you speak." Her smile quickly faded. "Unfortunately, yes." She regained her smiled after hearing his answer.

"Awesome!" Erik was already regretting his decision as he watched Regina dance around the room.


	9. Singing and Secrets

**A/N: If there are any spelling errors or run-on sentances, Blame my friend! I read it twice, then sent it to him to read and correct. **

It took Regina about five minutes to stop dancing around the room. She would have continued for much longer but didn't want to tire herself out too much before the lesson. Once she finished, Erik asked her about _his_ musical, though technically it is Andrew Lloyd Webber's. The talk about the musical soon lead up to how much they were making off of it, Erik talking to himself in French(how he should get at least half of what they're making, "if only I was alive"), who was performing and how he wanted to listen to them. They then spent the next two hours listening to the movie soundtrack and the Broadway one with Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman. He seemed more pleased by the Broadway but still _complained_, in Regina's opinion, about everyone's singing. When they finished the two soundtracks, they moved on to pictures. Of course Erik had to comment on how his angel was much more beautiful and sang better. Surprisingly he didn't comment about Raoul. Then came the picture of his distortion.

Regina smiled at the picture as she compared it to the movie version in her head and glanced at Erik. It was impossible for her to tell what he was thinking, but she couldn't help feel bad. The Phantom gazed at the screen examining the face carefully as he thought of his own. '_Of course they would not recreate this monstrous face._' He thought.

"Lon Chaney actually did the best job on looking like the book." Regina said, trying to make it sound like a good thing. "I can show you, if you..." She stopped short reminding herself that he didn't like the way he looked. "Sorry. I shouldn't hav-"

"It is about time that we started your lessons." Erik quickly interrupted. The last thing he wanted was to be pitied, he had gotten enough of that when he was alive.

"Right." Regina replied with a smile, trying to lighten the mood some.

Erik had hoped that Regina at least knew the basics of singing, like how to stand and breathe. Unfortunately, she didn't, and this annoyed him to no end. He was constantly trying to get her to stand correctly which was proving difficult since he was not a physical being. After many tries, she managed to get it right including how to breathe. Just when the lessons were truly going to begin, the doorbell rang. Regina jumped from where she was, out the door, down the hall, and to the front door to answer it, leaving a _very_ frustrated Erik in her room.

He decided not to follow her and hoped that this distraction would be quickly taken care so they could continue. "Korey! What are you doin' here?" She asked happily.

"Wonderful, a boy." He groaned. "Probably a blonde pretty boy here to sweep the ingénue off her feet." He said with a sneer as he thought of Raoul with Christine.

"You forgot?" The boy laughed. "You invited me over a couple hours ago Reggie."

"Oh yeah... I did... after Erik disappeared." She said the last part to herself.

"After what?" Korey asked, now walking up the hall to Regina's room.

"I don't know if I should tell you but then again it won't really matter since I you might not believe me anyway so I might as well go and tell you 'cause I don't think he'll get mad at me but he might considering who he is and since he's so used to secrecy-"

"Reggie!" Korey exclaimed with a small smile. By now the two were standing outside Regina's room. "Breathe, then speak." Erik could hear the girl take a slow deep breath and let it out followed by a soft chuckle.

"Guess I'm a little excited. I haven't told _anyone _he's here." Regina began to open the door slowly, not taking her eyes off her friend as she did.

"Whose here?" Korey asked obviously curious.

"The Phantom of the Opera!" Regina exclaimed and opened the door. Erik took this moment to examine the boy. He was about the same height, if not shorter than Regina. His messy dark brown hair was parted to the side and out of his face, so you could easily see his blue eyes. He was surprisingly skinny for a boy and looked to be Regina's age. The clothes he wore were similar to Regina's; a T-shirt, pants, socks and shoes.

Korey glanced around the room before turning to Regina with a smile. "Reggie, how much sugar have had?" He asked teasingly.

Regina opened her mouth to speak but stopped as she thought of an to answer for the question. "Not a lot, but that's not the point!" She exclaimed. "He's real. Erik was a living breathing person 200 years ago and now he's a ghost and this is his ring!" Regina put out her hand so Korey could see the golden band in it's full glory. Korey examined the ring on her finger with mild curiosity. The ring looked bigger than her finger and needed to be fitted. "And it won't come off." She quickly added.

"Of course it will." Korey replied. Gently taking Regina's hand he began to tug on the ring. Seeing that it refused to budge he pulled harder. "Did your finger swell up?" He asked jokingly. Erik was starting to like him.

"He must go." Erik said before Regina could respond to Korey's comment.

She turned to him a little surprised that she forgot he was there. "I can't just tell him to go after inviting him here. That'd be rude."

"He will be a distraction, so he must leave if we are to continue the lessons." Erik explained.

"Why can't he stay and watch?"

"I just explained myself, something I rarely do but I made an exception in your case."

"Can't you ever say anything without making it sound like an insult?"

"Reggie." Korey had been listening to Regina have a conversation with Erik though he couldn't see or hear him. "Are you driving him nuts?" He asked with a smile. The Phantom expected Korey to question Regina's sanity, so this was quite a surprise.

"Maybe." She replied.

"Maybe?" Erik asked trying to keep himself from strangling her. "You are the most infuriating woman I have ever met!"

Regina gazed at him wide-eyed but couldn't help grinning when she turned back to Korey. "Definitely." Korey laughed at his friend. "So does this mean you believe me?"

Now Regina was always fantasying about many different things. She would often times talk to herself for quick moments when she got an idea for a story. Her active imagination would often let her drift from reality to her own world. But she always knew the difference between fact and fiction. The Phantom was fictional, so there is no way for a character from a book to become a ghost in the real world. Even so, he couldn't just tell her she was wrong...

"Well..." Regina gazed at him intently waiting for him to continue. "I can't see or hear him but I can't deny that he doesn't exist since I have no proof." He smiled. "Plus, you talking to yourself is normal."

"Well, so much for making you look crazy, it seems you've already accomplished that." Erik sighed.


	10. Best of Friends?

**A/N: So I WAS going to wait till my friend re-read the chapter for me, but it's been much too long since I sent it. So here it is! I wouldn't be surprised if there is still some mistakes in there even after I re-read it a couple times.**

**Best of Friends(?)**

"You sure you don't mind?" Regina asked Korey once more. After a bit of talking, Korey had suggested that he stay and play with the dog. Saddie was very excited to see Korey since he would often play with her when he came over. Erik was pleased with this solution, though he would have preferred that he left the premises.

Korey smiled and nodded. "Yeah it's fine. I like playing with Saddie." Before leaving the room, he outstretched his arms for a hug. Regina smiled as she wrapped her arms around him. "Let me know when you're done." He paused for a moment to look around the room. "Don't be too hard on her, Erik." Erik raised an eye brow and watched him leave. He wasn't sure if he truly believed that he was there or if he was only humoring Regina. It didn't really matter to him either way but it still peaked his curiosity. There was one thing about Korey that had caught his attention.

"He has feelings for you." Erik said as if he were speaking to a child.

Regina turned to him baffled for a moment but smiled. "I don't think he'd be my friend if he didn't like me."

"That was not what I meant."

"Oh. Well we were boyfriend and girlfriend, but now were regular friends again." She stated with a proud smile. It took Erik a moment to understand what she meant. His thoughts went to the days at the opera house when he saw young men courting the ballerinas or other young women. This quickly reminded him of Raoul and Christine and his eyes became cold. '_It shall not happen again._' He thought and turned his gaze to Regina. '_I will never love anyone ever again._' He could almost feel his heart harden with each passing second. Regina felt a shiver crawl up and down her spine from the look in Erik's eyes. She began to understand why so many people feared to look at him. It wasn't just his face that was frightening, but his eyes. The unclouded, cold, raw emotion held within them was enough to make anyone nervous or scared.

"Now." Erik began. "We shall begin."

Almost two hours passed before Korey had come back to Regina's room to see how she was doing, also to let her know he was going to raid the fridge. The door was open so he could hear Regina singing clearly. He had heard her sing before, with the Phantom soundtrack playing. There wasn't a great change in her singing, but just enough to notice a difference. She sounded like she had a better idea of what to do. He knocked on the door, to let her know he was coming in and entered the room.

"Hope I'm not interrupting." He said.

"Heya. I'm sure it's alright." Regina smiled brightly while Erik frowned in disagreement. Ignoring Erik's frown, she continued. "You're not bored or anything are you?"

"I'm alright. You're singing is sounding good." He said, glancing around the room for some sign of the ghost teaching her.

"Thanks."

"If we are to continue, this conversation must end now." Erik cast a glare on Korey who got a quick shiver.

"I can't take a quick break?" She asked Erik disbelievingly.

"Not if you wish to take this seriously."

From Regina's expression, Korey could tell that he was not wanted. "I'll go head home now."

"You're leaving?" She glanced at Korey before pouting with the best puppy dog eyes she could make at Erik. "Can't he at least stay and watch?" Erik almost cringed. Her attempt at being too cute to resist would work on most anyone, but Erik.

Korey laughed at seeing Regina's expression, now certain if Erik was indeed stuck with Regina, she was going to drive him mad. "It's Ok Reggie. We'll hang out Saturday."

Regina turned back to Korey and sighed with a small smile. "Kay." Sparing a glance at Erik, hoping to catch a hint of emotion that wasn't anger or annoyance, she and Korey left the room. After saying goodbye to each other and making sure the door was locked, she hurried back to Erik, almost jumping into the room. "You're not going to obsess over my singing so much so that I'm not aloud to see any of my friends for a long period of time and only brief glimpses of my family, are you?" She spoke so suddenly and quickly, it was surprising that he didn't miss anything. "Cause you seem like the kind of person who'd obsess over perfection in _everything_." She paused for a moment to think of what she had said, thus giving Erik a chance to speak.

"I am _only_ doing this since I refuse to listen to that _noise_ you call _singing_. Do not forget that."

"... That'd be a no." She said to herself as a mental note.

"We shall speak of this no more." Erik said and turned from her. "Erik thought Erik was already insane. But this girl has proven Erik wrong. Erik might go _completely_ mad. It is unfortunate that Erik is dead and can not kill. It was a nice way to relieve Erik's stress. Now Erik is teaching her to sing. Hopefully Erik will be able to find a way to escape or maybe kill."

Regina watched him talk to himself in third person. She had forgotten about this part of him, and wasn't sure weather to laugh or step back slowly out of the room and let him be.


	11. Hello and Goodbye

**A/N: I am very sorry for another short chapter. I really what'd to write more, but it just kinda ended there. I'll try to make the next chapter longer. But at least it's a chapter right? Enjoy!**

**Oh, and special thanks to my friend for rereading and correcting this. So any mistakes are all his fault! ;P**

* * *

**Hello and Goodbye**

The doorbell rang and voices could be heard just outside. Regina stopped singing and dashed to the door to open it. '_Saved!_' She thought. The door opened before she reached it. Entering the house were her brother and sister back from school. Her brother had rang the doorbell even though he knew his sister had a key to the house. "Hey guys." Regina said cheerfully, trying hard not to look tired from Erik's lessons. Russell said a quick hello and headed to the room with the TV.

"Did you run around the house or something?" Her sister asked, closing the door behind her. "You look exhausted."

"I ran to open the door for you guys." She explained, soon realizing this would only raise her suspicion of her.

"I have a key you know." Dawn waved her key in front of Regina's face to see it and left for her room.

Regina sighed and headed back to her own room where Erik was waiting for her, and probably ask her why she left in such a hurry. Since their last conversation, Erik was working Regina harder than before. He had found a pen which he could pick up and would often poke her with it when ever she started to slouch. '_Revenge._' She thought. '_I better not tease him anymore now._'

What she didn't know that Erik had become exhausted as well. Holding the pen for so long seemed to have drained him of what energy he had left. He couldn't remember a time when he had felt so weak. He hated it, but he couldn't stop himself from dropping the pen and falling to his knees. "Erik!" Regina had come just in time to see him fall and attempted to catch him, only to watch her arms go through him.

Erik laughed weakly at her. "Heh, pour une jeune femme telle que vous montrer l'inquiétude pour moi bien que je suis mort. Vous amusant tout à fait."

"I have no idea what you said." Regina gave him a small smile. "But I bet it was insulting, so you must be OK." As Regina got up, Erik fell to the floor. "_Erik!_" She yelled as the phantom lost consciousness and fell to the floor. He cursed his weakness even as he fell. There was nothing the girl could do but watch. A part of her knew she shouldn't worry since he is already dead but she couldn't help gazing at his unmoving and now transparent body. She turned away from him once she noticed that his clothes were also transparent. Though it was only for a moment, her cheeks turned a bright red from seeing Erik's skeletal body. She glanced back at him, making sure to look only at his upper half, to see if there was any change. Erik was still transparent and unmoving. "Are you leaving me, so soon?" She asked and sat down next to him and waited for him to disappear or wake up. "Please be OK."

While Regina waited worryingly, Erik was in a place he had grown all too familiar with. '_This is..._' All around him was black. He could not see anything or do anything. '_Hmh. Looks like I've returned._' He wasn't sure if he was standing or laying down or floating. It didn't really matter to him but the thought refused to leave. '_Shall I wait here for all eternity then_?'

"Erik." A soft and kind voice called. He had heard this voice many times before and knew it very well, and he should, since he trained it.

"Christine." His eyes darted around the darkness trying to find some sign of his angel. "Are you truly here this time, or is this another trick?"

"No, I'm really here Erik." Though he couldn't see her, he knew she was smiling. "Monsieur Nadir said you would come here soon."

"So the Daroga is with you... Christine why have you returned to me?"

There was a silence before she answered. "You've been in purgatory for so long Erik, I thought that someone could help you."

'_Help me?_' Erik had almost said this aloud but caught himself. " I am beyond help Christine-"

"But you have a second chance now." Christine exclaimed. "I wish I could have helped you when we were alive but..." There was another silence which somehow seemed deafening to Erik.

"Is this _girl_ supposed to help me? Ha! How is _she_ going to help _me_?!"

"I don't want to see you suffer anymore Erik." Christine's voice had gotten louder and he thought he could see her silhouette in the darkness. "Please, you must let go and move on. Goodbye Erik."

"Christine..." As he spoke her name, he could feel himself drifting from the dark world and back to his ghostly form. The phantom open his eyes and gazed at the ceiling. He had meet with his beloved Christine once more, only to say goodbye. Erik sat up, realizing he felt refreshed and full of energy and a little more solid than before. Turning his head he saw Regina was laying against her bed, asleep. Worry still apparent in her face as she dreamed. He glanced at the digital clock to see 2 hours have passed since he fell. '_Has she been waiting for me?_' Erik wondered. He almost laughed at the thought but turned his gaze back to the sleeping girl. When she slept, she seemed more like a young adult than an energetic teenager. '_That's right, she is a young woman._' He reminded himself. '_Old enough to be married and have children in my time_.' A small smile creased his face as he watched her sleep. He sat down next to her and whispered. "You need not worry for me mademoiselle, I am dead and do not need it. Rest now, and dream of better things, than of my well-being."

A half hour passed before Regina finally woke up. She looked at the floor where Erik was when she fell asleep. He was no longer there. "He's gone."

"Unfortunately I am not." Erik said from behind. Regina turned around to find Erik sitting on the bed watching her. "So you need not-"

"You're Ok!" Regina jumped up and leapt to hug him to once again fall through the ghost and onto the bed. Erik was surprised at her reaction and wasn't sure what to say. This was what, the third time she forgot he had no physical body? What he couldn't understand even more was her concern for him. He was dead, he had been unkind to her, and he had done nothing to earn her affection. Yet she cared for him. Regina laughed as she adjusted herself to sit next to Erik. "I did it again." She smiled at him sweetly. "So, what shall we do now?"

Erik gazed at her, thinking of what Christine said. '_This girl... this young woman, is going to help me?_' Turning his eyes away from her he spoke. "I would like to see this movie about me that you spoke of."

"Really? You'll probably not like it."

"There are very few things in this world that I like."

"OK, then." Going through her closet she pulled out the DVD. "They really didn't do the story justice, just to warn you." She placed the DVD in the slot and made herself comfy on the floor in front of the TV. As the Menu appeared, Erik started to wonder if watching this was a smart thing to do.


	12. My Life Is A Movie

**A/N: I really enjoyed making this chapter. :D And there is a point to it! Though it's at the end. Btw, I LOVE the end. :3 **

**Just so you all know, I'm working on a big project for college(a book, at least five pages) and it's due in 3 1/2 weeks. 00 So it'll be hard to get other chapters done since I need to focus on that, work at my temporary job, and GET a job. Hopefully once it's finished, I'll be able to get a chapter done. **

**My Life Is A Movie**

The Overture blasted through the speakers and could be read on the other side of the house. Dawn came knocking on the door soon after it started to ask her to turn it down, then commented on how obsessed Regina was about this movie and called her a crazed fan girl. Regina smiled saying it was only a border line obsession and that her true obsession was Lord of the Rings. Dawn used the very common word used by most teenagers (Whatever) and left the room once the volume was lower. The _phan_ girl shook her head and continued watching the movie with a wide smile. Her smile slowly faded when she turned to Erik. From what she could tell, he looked very serious. Like he was performing brain surgery at this very moment. This made Regina a little nervous and was about to suggest turning the DVD off.

"Impressive." Erik commented once the opera house finished going from old, gray, and dusty to new, colorful, and clean.

Regina smiled brightly. "Yeah it is. I got an idea how they do it, but I love watching it."

Erik glanced at Regina from the corner of his eye, silently telling her to not to speak. This was much more intimidating with his mask on. Regina did her best not to speak or sing through the movie. Which proved very hard when Angel of Music (Reprise) began. She loved to sing this part along with the "theme song". Before and after every song, she'd glance at Erik to try and see what he was thinking. She knew this was a nearly impossible task, but still tried.

As for what Erik _did_ think of the movie, well, that's hard to say. He didn't dislike it, but neither did her like it. The best way to put it would be that it intrigued him. ALW's interpretation of his life and love for Christine almost amused him. The fact that Madame Giry seemed to replace Daroga did amuse him along with how they portrayed the characters. Mostly himself. It was true that people of that time would in fact be frightened by Gerik's(as Regina called him) distortion, it was nothing compared to the real thing. He let a hint of emotion show through his mask. He had many masks, not just the one which hid his face.

The movie had just reached Don Juan Triumphant. This scene had peaked his interest from the moment it was mentioned during Masquerade. He glanced at Regina when he was sure she wasn't looking. She appeared to be transfixed to the TV at this moment, her lips moved to the lines Christine sang and an odd excitement seemed to grow once she finished. Her reaction to this scene made him even more curious as he thought of what they had put in from that seductive opera. The Music of the Night was surprisingly seductive at certain points. '_So how will this scene play out?_'

Gerik came out from hiding and began singing. Erik glanced at Regina once more to see her breathing had become a little heavier and her lips follow Gerik's lines carefully. She would hold back a giggle when ever Raoul appeared, who looked quite surprised and confused. Once Gerik stopped, she followed Emmy's lines until it showed Raoul again, even more surprised than before, and was unable to hold back a laugh. But got right back on mouthing the words once she was done laughing. When the two began their duet, Regina seemed to have forgotten about Erik since her movements reflected the song and her eyes closed. Erik watched her and would glance at the movie. Even after they had finished and the music had quieted, her head was tilted back and was still breathing a little heavily.

"Hey Regina!" Russell exclaimed so suddenly that Regina nearly jumped to her feet, somehow tripped in the process, and fell on her back. "You watching The Phantom of the Opera?"

Regina adjusted her head so that she was looking up at her younger brother. "Russ, please knock." Russell then did as she said, closed the door and knocked. "I meant next time." She was now sitting up and facing the door. Her brother poked his head inside the room, mouth agape. "And yes, we-I am watching the Phantom of the Opera."

Russell cocked his head with a smile when she said we. "Hee hee. Regina's going nuts." He said teasingly then laughed at his own "joke". She was about to retort but Russell spoke. "Can I watch it with you?"

Her mouth opened and closed, making her look like a fish out of water. Carefully she glanced at Erik, who appeared to be ignoring the two and watching the movie. Gerik was taking Emmy down to his lair now. "Uh, OK, I guess." She answered haltingly, unsure how Erik felt about her little brother. Russell hurried into the room and nearly sat down on Erik. "Russ wait!" She managed to stop him and let out a sigh of relief. "Sit right there, kay?" She pointed to a spot next to Erik. Russell shrugged but did as she said. By this time, Raoul fell into the trap door. "No talking, Ok Russ?" She quickly added.

"Can we sing?" He asked with a wide, curious smile. When ever Regina and Russell watch this movie, they would often sing all the songs. Russell, would sing for all the male characters and Regina for the female characters. It was one of the many reasons he loved to watch this movie with her. He enjoyed singing... Often loudly.

"I wouldn't be surprised if his singing was better than yours." Erik commented.

"Sure Russ." She answered smugly, glancing back at Erik. The two sang through the rest of the movie. Russell had trouble keeping up when Gerik and Patrick sang together, unsure who was singing what. He also sang rather loudly, bringing Dawn back to her room. She was about to ask them to quiet down, when she noticed it was Russell who was singing, and asked him to continue. She thought Russell singing was adorable.

Once Russell was done singing, Dawn left. Russell soon followed after her when the scene changed to the grave with the rose and the ring. The credits played, and the movie ended. Watching it with Erik, it felt surprisingly longer than normal. So came the question she had been wanting to ask since the movie began.

"What did you think?"

There was a long silence as Erik thought of a good way to answer. "It was amazingly inaccurate while still keeping true to most of what happened."

"Ok." She decided to rephrase her question. "Did you like it?"

"As I said before, there are very few things in this world that I like."

"You're just avoiding the question." Regina fell back on the floor, letting the credits continue up the screen and music play. Her stomach growled loudly, demanding food. "Oh man! She jumped up to see what time it was. "It's _way_ past dinner time!" She exclaimed and hurried out of the room and down the hall to the kitchen.

Erik didn't move. His thoughts were on the movie. '_So, this is how people view me now_.' He thought and slowly got up from where he sat. '_How they view my life._' Glancing at the computer, he remembered the pictures Regina had shown him, along with the music he listened too. "Erik's life is too much for these people." He said aloud. "Erik's face is too much..." Then a it occurred to him. "Did she call for Erik? Or did she want this Gerik? Hmh." A crooked smile crept onto his face and his eyes burned with a familiar madness. "Regina_ will help _Erik. She will get Erik's music out again. These imbeciles will hear Erik's music, _real_ music. Though it shall not be good as when Erik had Christine." He turned to the door. "This is why Erik is here. To make music, once more."


	13. Haunted House Troubles

**A/N: Sorry for taking so long to put up a chapter. I haven't had time since I got my new job. I'm working 5/6 days a week and I'm still getting used to it. Really enjoying it though. :D Anywho, I thought I'd do a time jump, so things aren't too slow. Plus I want to get this story moving a little more. I actually made a pic of the first scene with Regina and Erik. You can find it on my DA account, I'm SailorPhantom there. If you want to see it, I can send you a link. There may be a few mistakes since I was too lazy to send this to my friend to read. **

**So, I hope you enjoy this chapter, thank you for waiting, and PLEASE comment.  
**

**Haunted House Troubles**

Almost three weeks and past since Regina and Erik first met. During this time, Erik taught Regina how to sing, tried to rid himself of her, escaping, and attempted to deal with the odd young woman for at least five minutes. His attempts to kill her obviously failed, along with trying to escape. The two learned that is possible for others to see him, but merely as a transparent/faded image on a picture or from the corner of your eye. Also during this time, Erik learned how to control his new ghostly powers, as Regina called them. He also learned that he could only do so much before collapsing, and that if he rested, he would regain enough energy to continue. Troublesome as it was, he would rest for a couple hours during the night. After much practice, he found that he could levitate things by merely willing it to, though it couldn't be any farther than 10 feet away. By the second week, he was able to lift things with his own hands. He found this very handy in keeping himself occupied.

All this caused a new uneasiness for Regina's family. For it didn't take too long to realize that there was someone, or something, else in the house.

"Erik!" Regina exclaimed once she entered her room. The phantom was reading on of the many books he had Regina get for him.

Erik didn't even bother to look up from his book when he spoke. "Welcome back." Regina had spent a good portion of the day at work. It was a part time job so she only worked 3 days a week.

"Look Erik, I'm glad you found a way to entertain yourself, really I am." She began. Regina had been meaning to talk to him about this for a while now. Though, every time she attempted to, something, or someone, would come up, preventing her from dealing with the problem.

"Do you have a point?" Erik replied, putting a marker in the book and setting it down. "or do you like hearing yourself talk?" The phantom stood in front of the young woman, looking down at her with his gold cat like eyes.

Regina frowned, tired of how he would always treat her. Sure he was a dead genius and she was an ordinary girl, but that didn't give him the right to treat her so rudely. Trying not to lose track of what she wanted to say, she spoke again. "Would you _please _stop levitating my dad's books, taking apart my lil brother's toys, using my lil sister's electric piano _when_ she's in her room, rearranging my mom's cabinets, and _please _stop talking to me at three in the morning when you know I have to go to work."

"Would you rather I find ways to _torture _you and your family instead?"

Regina couldn't help but feel a little fear. She knew he would. The only he wasn't wa-... She didn't even know why he wasn't torturing her family. It can't be said that she wasn't grateful he wasn't but, why wasn't he? She found herself biting her lip and quickly stopped. "N-No but..." What could she say? He has a right to keep himself from being bored... That's why she got the books from the library and showed him how to work the electric piano. "Could you ease up on them?" Regina knew this would probably mean he would just bother her more in the unlikely event that he would actually listen to her.

"...Alright."

"Huh?" It was hard for her _not_ to be surprised.

"Though I doubt it will do anything now. The damage has already been done."

Regina bit her lip again. It was true. Her family never did believe in ghosts, but with recent events... It'd be hard not to. Both of her parents were a bit nervous and very confused as to even begin to explain the strange happenings within the house. It didn't effect her brother so much, except he was getting very tired of finding various toys in pieces on the floor of his room. Her sister didn't seem to be too effected either. Well, it was kind of hard to tell considering she was out of the house most of the time.

The two's conversation was ended when there was rather loud knock at the door. "Regina! You got mail!"

"You don't need to yell Russ." Regina opened the door to take the mail that her little brother had brought to her. She said a quick thanks then closed the door to begin looking over the mail she had received. Her head cocked to the side with a small frown. "What is with all these 'Thanks For Entering Our Win A Vacation!' mail I've been getting?" Just as she was about to toss the junk mail into the trash, she was stopped by Erik. She looked up at the phantom, surprised that he had grabbed her wrist which he quickly released once he realized what he did. "You want these?"

"If we are to go to Pairs, yes."

"OK the- what?!" Regina exclaimed. "What do you mean we? Why am I going? Did you fill these out?"

"Since I am unable to be more than 5 miles away from you, I'm afraid you must come with me."

"So that's why you never left." Regina paused as she thought of this. "I kinda understand why you want to go to Paris, since that is where you died."

"Yes, I am hoping that there will be some means of freeing myself from you there."

Regina did her best not to frown or grin, though she wasn't sure how she felt about this situation any more. Going to Paris sounded like a good plan, even if she didn't have the money, Erik was already finding a way around that obstacle. Plus, like Erik said, he might be freed from being stuck in the land of the living and go pass on. The thought bothered her a little considering where he might go.

"I've always wanted to go to New Zealand or Japan, but Paris would be fun too." Her face looked bright and happy but her eyes couldn't hide the hint of concern she felt for the phantom.

Erik held back a sigh. It was fairly obvious of what she was worried about, or at least to him it was. But it amazed him that she still would treat him with such civility after how he has been treating her. At the same time, he commended her. Even Nadir would only put up with his attitude for so long. Also the fact that she cared for him enough to worry for his well being. "Regina." He put a hand on her shoulder before he continued. "I am prepared for what ever awaits me, though I doubt I shall see the pearly gates to heaven, if only to torment m-"

"Don't say that!" She exclaimed. If it wasn't for the mask, Regina would have seen that she had surprised Erik, if only a little. "I don't want you to spend all eternity in Hell! I don't think Christine would want you there either." That last part she said quietly, but Erik could still hear her. What she said reminded him of what Christine said to him when they meet again in the darkness. _"I don't want to see you suffer anymore Erik_._"_

'_I think I understand now, Christine._' He thought as he gazed at the young woman before him. Tears were threatening to escape from her eyes, and she was doing her best to keep them back. '_This girl, is to give me a second chance to be with you... if only in death._' "You are sweet... and naïve. I have done nothing to earn a place in heaven. But maybe that is why I am here." It sounded silly, and he didn't fully believe it himself, but he hated to see a woman cry.

"That would be nice."

"So, you are alright then?" Regina nodded with a smile. "Good. Now lets us begin your singing lessons for today."

Regina gapped at the phantom. "Now?"

"Why not? It is a good time, and you _need_ the lessons."

"I'm not that bad, plus I've gotten better."

"Begin your breathing exercises, then we will continue where we left off."

With a sigh, she did as she was told. '_I'm starting to think this is his own way of torturing me._' She thought as she breathed in deeply.


	14. So Happy Together

**A/N: The first chapter that doesn't have Erik. Wow. Really didn't think that would happen, but this seemed like a good spot for Regina and Korey to hang out and see how they view the "situation" with Erik. Plus you get to learn a bit more about them. Enjoy, and comment!**

**So Happy Together**

"Are you ok Reggie?" The brunette boy asked his friend. The two were rollerblading in the park and Regina had just caught up to Korey. It was usually the other way around since the boy wasn't used to rollerblading unlike his friend.

Regina gazed at Korey, her eyes serious and tired. "If Erik weren't already dead, I'd have killed him." She replied. It had been a month since her singing lessons with Erik began, and it was getting to her. Korey laughed. "I'm serious! That ghost won't give me a moments peace ever since I confronted him about him haunting my family!" She wined.

Korey shook his head, still smiling. It was slowly becoming obvious to Regina that he didn't fully believe that Erik was really there. "I thought you were glad he-"

"I changed my mind." Regina frowned and crossed her arms. "He's infuriating!" She exclaimed.

"Well it's not going to do you any good to just complain about it."

Regina turned away from Korey to pout, a little annoyed that he was right. This didn't bother the boy at all. In fact, he thought it was funny, but did his best not to laugh. After she finished pouting, she sighed and tilted her head back to look at Korey. "I guess."

"Besides, didn't you invite me to go rollerblading to take your mind off him?" He reminded her, a smug smile formed on his lips.

"Oh yeah." That was one of the things that she liked about him, he was fun, yet sensible. He also had a knack for knowing just what to say to make her feel better. Korey was one of the better friends she had over the years. Partly because they actually kept in contact during the summer. So in total, she had three good friends... whom she never remembered to call, even when she wanted to.

Korey laughed again. "Then lets forget about Erik and have some fun!"

"Yeah!" Regina raised a hand in the air to pose dramatically and Korey joined her. A couple people who happened to be around glanced at the two then continued with what ever they were doing. "Still, I wish I could hit him with something. It'd sure make me feel better."

"Why don't you just draw yourself hitting him with something?" Korey began rollerblading once more and Regina joined him.

"I have... It looks horrible." She pouted once again then laughed. "I bet if Erik saw it, he'd just tell me all the things wrong with it. Oh man I hope he never finds my sketch book."

"You have lots of drawings of beating up Erik?"

She paused before answering. "Somewhat."

Korey laughed. "Hey, Reggie. You want to go out again sometime?"

"We're out now." She knew what he meant but felt like being silly now that she was feeling better. "Yeah, I'd like that. We need to hang out more." Korey nodded in agreement. "How about Paris?"

"What?" Korey laughed but was surprised by her suggestion. "Why Paris?"

Regina bit her lip before answering. "Cause Erik thinks he might find some way to move on if he goes to Paris."

"Maybe he's still in love with Christine."

"Of course he is. That's the only reason he even let her go... I think." She paused as she thought this over.

"The ring you're wearing, it's a wedding band right?" Regina nodded. "Well they come in twos don't they?"

"And the other one might be in Paris!" She exclaimed. "Korey you're brillia-aah!" The girl had forgotten to look where she was going and ended up hitting the grass, stopping her suddenly and sending her forward to fall on her face.

"Reggie! You OK?" Korey hurried to his friend's side to see her roll over onto her back, her face covered in grass and dirt.

"It's amazing I haven't broken anything yet. With how many times I hurt myself." She replied with a smile. Korey laughed and Regina joined him. The two then made themselves comfortable on the grass, though it was a bit hard to while wearing the rollerblades. Neither of them spoke, but enjoyed each other's company and the pleasantness of nature.

"Paris huh?" Korey said, breaking the silence.

"Yep."

"Any ideas of how to get there?"

"A plane would probably be best." Regina nodded.

"Haha, no I meant money. How are you going to get the money to get there?"

"Contests I think." She paused. "Erik will find a way."

"I'm sure he will." The more he spoke to Regina about Erik, the more he began to wonder if he was wrong, and Erik was really there. It was very hard for him to even consider this a fact since he is a very logical thinker. While his friend was... well, a dreamer. She had a very over active imagination which would often get the best of her. Even so, she wasn't known to lie. So he couldn't help but wonder, if it was possible that the famous fictional character known as Erik, did exist and for what ever reason, was stuck with his friend. No matter how many times he thought of it, it sounded like a fan fic by an obsessed fan girl.

"Do you have any money with you?" Regina asked, pulling Korey from his thoughts.

"Yeah. why do you ask?" He figured she wanted a soda since there was a machine near by.

"Though that we could go get food."

"We can't go to your house?" He had a very good idea where this was going.

"We could... but Taco Bell sounds so good right now." She stood up with a grin. Korey laughed a little, she just loved Taco Bell.

"Alright, to Taco Bell!" Korey stood up, and pointed in the direction where Taco Bell would be.

"Yeah!" Regina cheered then started rollerblading in the opposite direction.

"Where are you going?"

The girl stopped, tried to do a fancy turn around to face Korey and failed but kept herself from falling over. "Home."

A wide smile on his face, he rolled over to Regina. "I just thought you wanted to rollerblade there to avoid Erik." He teased.

"Yeah but, our cars are there, which would be much faster, and I'm hungry." She explained. "We'll rollerblade there another time."

Korey shook his head, still smiling. She didn't seem to understand that he wasn't serious about rollerblading there. "Alright, first to your house, then Taco Bell."

"Yep." The two then resumed rollerblading to Regina's house.


End file.
